Christmas with the Chosen: Holy Night

Never posted a review here before and this is more a response to another negative review. If you are expecting a two-hour movie this is not it. But if you want to view a meaningful, well-produced Christmas event, this works very well.

To those who have seen the previous Chosen Christmas specials, maybe this will disappoint because there is (mostly) material that has been shown before in one form or another, but apart from that, the music, the messages and the drama are all excellent and seemed Spirit-filled to me.

Since the choice of Amanda Jenkins as one of the speakers was criticized by another reviewer let me counter that by saying I thought she hit a home run. Her content and delivery was perfect.

In a sea of near endless garbage and darkness that flashes across movie screens, it is great to see something filled with so much goodness.

Christmas With The Chosen will instantly become a new Christmas Classic! I personally cut to the chase and fast forwarded to watch The Shepherd and The Messanger movies interwoven. It was SEAMLESS & INSPIRING. It had it all; past, present & future. All of Dallas Jenkins projects related to this The Chosen effort have been truly divinely inspired. You can literally see and feel it. Goosebumps galore! 👏🏿👊

So glad it was on Amazon Prime so I could get directly to the movie. 😀 Even though I'm a liturgical musician I wasn't interested in the co-mingling of the genres in this instance. There's a time and place to play holiday music but this is not one. I rated 9 out of 10 for that very reason. Fast Forward first 28 minutes and go back and listen at another time.

This is a Fathom event and very well done. The movie itself is less than an hour. A highlight are the seven orchestras and bands performing Christmas music! Well know artists perform including Andrea and Matteo Bocelli singing "Oh Holy Night". Utterly incredibly beautiful! The Christmas story is tokd through the eyes of Mar the mother of Jesus and poor and humbled shepherds. Another feature are the two monologues that explain the reason and details of making this Christmas movie; it is a completely edited and remastered and restored rendition of The Messengers and The Shepherd. Christmas with The Chosen: Holy Night truly offers an enriching Christmas experience that will bless you!

I loved the Chosen Christmas Special last year but this year there was little new. The intro by director Dallas Jenkins, the Bocelli performance, Season 4 trailer, monologue by Amanda Jenkins, and flash forward with Mary M and Mary (Jesus mother) was new, but almost everything else was a repeat from last years special including the musician performances (other than Bocelli). . Why was the monologue done by Amanda (directors wife)? Why not a recognizable and much loved cast member? I wasn't particularly wowed by viewing on the big theatre screen either. It would play just as nicely on home theatre TV's. Sorry but this performance just didn't do it for me.

"A young mother labeled impure. A shepherd boy considered "unclean". A never-before-seen performance from Andrea Bocelli highlights seven music performances and two beautiful new monologues."

I don't get all the review-bombing here considering all the features were spelled out in the tag-line.

Overall, I really enjoyed the films and the musical performances. Even the speaking/monologues were great. I felt they provided great natural breaks to the film that added a different pacing that I really enjoyed.

The messenger has such a unique feel given that it is a short film from years before the show's release. If I didn't know Shepherd & Messengers were separate films, I never would have noticed given how perfectly the two are woven together here. I found it to be an amazing and accurate portrayal on the Christmas story without feeling like an under budget rendition of the virgin birth.